# NTSB WPR13CA406: Hughes 369D, N519PA, Kalalau, HI, September 12, 2013 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: September 12, 2013, 13:50 local (23:50 UTC) - Place: Kalalau, HI - Coordinates: 22.17, -159.654998 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=22.1700&lon=-159.6550&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Standing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/150) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Standing-engine(s) operating: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 3 minor - Status: Completed, report April 23, 2014 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 88037 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR13CA406 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/88037/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=88037 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13CA406 ## Probable cause The entanglement of a tarp in the helicopter's main rotor from a nearby trash bundle. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Object/animal/substance: debris/dirt/foreign object](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022055): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Effect on equipment (probable cause); cases with it: [Hughes Helicopters HUGHES 369D, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022055/cases.md?model=4470706), [All aircraft, 101 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022055/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Standing-engine(s) operating: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900) (defining event); cases with it: [Hughes Helicopters HUGHES 369D, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md?model=4470706), [All aircraft, 1,556 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to drop off crew members and pick up secured bundles of trash from a remote landing zone. He had landed at this landing zone several times throughout the day. After an uneventful landing, the helicopter started to shake abruptly. The pilot maintained control of the helicopter until the shaking stopped and he could shut down the engine. A witness reported that a tarp from a nearby trash bundle had flown up into the main rotor blades; subsequently, one of the main rotor blades departed the helicopter and sustained substantial damage. There were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operations. ## Factual narrative The pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to drop off crew members and pick up secured bundles of trash from a remote landing zone. He had landed at this landing zone several times throughout the day. After an uneventful landing, the helicopter started to shake abruptly. The pilot maintained control of the helicopter until the shaking stopped and he could shut down the engine. A witness reported that a tarp from a nearby trash bundle had flown up into the main rotor blades; subsequently, one of the main rotor blades departed the helicopter and sustained substantial damage. There were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operations. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N519PA](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N519PA), registered now, S/N 370097D, built 1977 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: HUGHES 369D - Registry model: [Hughes Helicopters HUGHES 369D](https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-helicopters-hughes-369d) (registry code 4470706) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Allison 250-C20B](https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c20b) (registry code 03081, turbo-shaft) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 370097D - Year built: 1977 - Airframe hours: 5261 - Engines: Allison 250-C20B turbo shaft - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Operator: Airborne Aviation Inc - Registered owner: Patriot Aviation Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, July 17, 2013, 62 hours before - Departed: HLI, Lihue Airport, HI - Destination: Kalalau, HI - Flight plan: Company VFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 28; injuries: minor; commercial, flight instructor; instrument ratings: helicopter; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review March 26, 2013; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 4,822 total, 2,517 in this make and model, 4,663 as pilot in command, 89 in the last 90 days, 39 in the last 30 days, 9 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 230° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 3,600 ft broken - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 72 °F - Altimeter: 29.96 inHg - Observed at: HBK, 12 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20130912022659A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130912022659A), Sep 12, 2013: Hughes 369D, Kekaha, HI, Destroyed. Aircraft had just landed in a remote landing zone to drop off two passengers and start slinging bundles of camping gear out of the area via a long line. Pilot… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 15, 2014, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=88037. 1.1 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 873 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40411202&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Pilot Statement (item 2, .PDF, 126 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40407750&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%20Statement-Redacted.PDF - Record of Email - Federal Aviation Administration regarding Witness Statement (item 3, .PDF, 93 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40407751&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Email%20-%20Federal%20Aviation%20Administration%20regarding%20Witness%20Statement-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.